Feature image credit: The Montagu Kitchen

Last week I was very lucky to eat at The Montagu Kitchen to try their Churchill inspired dishes! The restaurant is located in the Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill, situated in the heart of Mayfair, and is just a stone’s throw away from Oxford Street.

The restaurant serves beautifully British seasonal dishes inspired by Chartwell Gardens, the former residence of Winston Churchill, under the direction of Kent-born Executive Chef, Mark Sainsbury. Fun fact: my first ever instagram post, from my personal account, was of from Chartwell Gardens – and yes that was 8 years ago!!!. 

We were greeted by such friendly staff, that explained the menu, and talked us through the aspects of the dishes that are inspired by the gardens, and started with some of their signature cocktails. The Roses & Apples concoction was far too drinkable, consisting of Hendricks gin, lemon juice, elderflower cordial, rose water, and importantly, Chartwell Garden apple juice. Whilst my companion had the Lavender Sour Field, which is made up of Chase gin, lavender syrup, lemon juice, and egg white (which I always think makes a cocktail great).

Another surprising feature was how amazing the bread was. I regularly make the mistake of filling up on bread, and this time was no exception! The rosemary bread with parsley butter has been on mind ever since, and I have basically decided that every meal needs to start with it.

The garden theme continued with the amuse-bouche, with a celeriac paste, rye bread crumbs (to mimic dirt) and crunchy vegetables – safe to say, my bouche was très amused.

To start, I chose the Rabbit Loin Roulade, which was accompanied by caramelised figs, chestnut purée and National Trust cider apple jelly. One of my favourite parts of eating out is choosing dishes that you wouldn’t be able to recreate at home. I know I will never buy rabbit, nor will I take the time to caramelise figs and certainly will never make cider apple jelly, so I was particularly excited to try this dish. The figs were perfect, and the rabbit was delicious, however my only comment would have been to have had more of the cider apply jelly, as it was truly exquisite and added an great sharpness to the dish.

For the main I chose the Homemade Marmalade Glazed Pork Belly as our waiter explained, the Chef, Mark Sainsbury, makes the marmalade glaze himself. The dish consisted of a 12 hour slow-cooked pork belly, braised kale with barley and herbs, seasonal vegetables, and red wine jus (which I would suggest more of…but maybe that’s just because I lovely gravy!). One thing I would say is that portion sizes at The Montagu Kitchen will not disappoint! I found it really difficult to finish, but I powered through, not wanting the leave any behind. For pork fans, I would definitely recommend this dish.

Whilst I was struggling in my skinny jeans, we of course could not say no to dessert. A beautiful dessert car was bought to our table which had a handful of mouth-watering options, including their signature apple pie which is a staple at the restaurant. However I couldn’t resist the Apple & Walnut Charlotte, served with smoked cinnamon ice-cream. My god – this is my type of dessert. I love any hot apple dish, and when combined with cinnamon, we all know it is a match made in heaven.

Before we stumbled out, bellies fully and feeling very gluttonous, we had some peppermint tea, accompanied by the kitchen’s vegan meringues with chocolate. And then I burst the waiter’s bubble when he asked if we knew how a vegan meringue could be made (as it is just sugar and eggs) as I had just watched the Great British Bake-Off’s vegan week episode! And for those that don’t know, they are made with chickpea juice….and no, they do not taste like humus!

The rest of the menu can be found here, and I highly recommend taking a look and booking a dinner at The Montagu Kitchen soon, or at least coming to try their signature cocktails!

xx